Part 3: 5,100 High Country Residents Owed $1.35 Million in Unclaimed Cash/Property; Avery County: $243,000

Published Monday, March 12, 2012 at 11:03 am

March 12, 2010. More than 5,100 High Country former and current residents are owed $1.35 million in unclaimed cash and property from the North Carolina State Department and Treasurer. More than 1,000AsheCountyresidents are owed more than $237,000.

More than 1,200 Avery County residents are owed more than $243,000

Unclaimed property may be old bank accounts, wages, utility deposits, insurance policy proceeds, stocks, bonds, and contents of safe deposit boxes that typically have been abandoned for one to five years. According to Julia Vail, deputy director of the N.C. State Department and Treasurer, funds become unclaimed because the holder loses trackof the owner, possibly due to an incorrect address or misinformation in their claim such as reversing the numbers in their zip code.

Also, she added that there is no time limit for filing claims for unclaimed property. The state maintains unclaimed assets in trust for the rightful owners indefinitely.

Currently, the N.C. State Department and Treasurer holds more than $400 million dollars of cash and property. The department’s website states that “with two million properties in the database and nine million North Carolinians, there is almost a one in four chance that a North Carolina citizen has a claim.” Last year, the department returned nearly $47 million through its NC Cash program, and the interest earned on the fund goes to the State Educational Assistance Authority (SEAA) to pay for grants, loans and scholarships for North Carolina college students attending public universities and community colleges. In 2010, the unclaimed property program assisted over 100,000 students.